Lamb Bonnet

Parents should relish their child’s first few Halloweens, the only ones where you actually get to choose the costume! After that, gender lines get drawn, popular culture seeps into your child’s imagination, and things don’t necessarily go your way. So, as the mother of a three year old on the cusp of making an unfortunate decision, take my advice: Don’t miss out on the narrow window of opportunity when your kid is nothing but totally cute for Halloween!

This little Lamb Bonnet ensures just that. Based on my Winter Baby Bonnet pattern, this version has the addition of floppy lamb ears and is made with a combination of Michael Miller’s sumptuous Organic Sherpa and Robert Kaufman’s dreamy Shetland Flannel in two very lamb-y colorways. Have a very happy (and cute!) Halloween! -Corinne

These are enough materials to make 2 hats for sizes 0-3 or 3-6 months; or 1 hat for sizes 6-12, 12-18 or 18-24 months.

You will also need . . .

Lamb Bonnet Template, available for free download here, printed and cut out in the appropriate size.

A walking foot for your sewing machine.

Sizes

Sizes are for 0-3 (3-6, 6-12, 12-18, 18-24) months.

Notes

Prewash all fabrics before starting. This is particularly important with the Organic Sherpa, which shrinks quite a bit with its first wash and dry.

Use ¼-inch seam allowances unless otherwise noted.

The right side of the Organic Sherpa is the fuzzy side.

Pattern

Cut

Use the prepared template pieces to cut from both fabrics: 2 Hat Sides, 2 Ears and a rectangle, but first, be sure to line up the grainline properly. Here’s how . . .

The grainline runs perpendicular to the fabrics’ selvage edges. Line up the templates so that the marked arrows run along the grainline as shown above.

Also, if you are using fabric(s) with a clear right and wrong side (like the Organic Sherpa), be sure to cut one Hat Side and one Ear with the right side of the fabric facing up and one of each with the wrong side of the fabric facing up. The Hat Side pair and the Ear pair should be mirror images of each other.

NOTE: The two Hat Sides shown above have their right sides facing up. The Hat Side on the left is the Left Hat Side; the Hat Side on the right is the Right Hat Side.

From each fabric, cut one rectangle measuring 3 ½ by 11 ½ (3 ½ by 12 ½, 3 ¾ by 13 ½, 3 ¾ but 14 ½, 4 by 15 ½) inches. The grainline of the fabrics should run along the long edge of the rectangles.

Transfer Markings

Using your preferred fabric marking tool or pins, transfer the marked lines on the Hat Side template to the right side of the two Hat Sides cut from the Outer Fabric.

NOTE: For the White colorway, the Outer Fabric is the Sherpa. For the Brown or Black colorway, you may choose to use the Flannel as the Outer Fabric.

Sew the Ears

With right sides together, stack one Ear cut from the Flannel on top of one Ear cut from the Sherpa. Pin in place.

Sew the Ears together along the curved edge. Do not sew the bottom closed.

Trim the seam allowance along the sewn edge, leaving the unsewn area untrimmed.

Pull the Ear right side out through the unsewn bottom edge and press flat.

Fold the Ear in half lengthwise so that Outer fabric is on the outside and the two lines at the bottom edge of the Ear align.

Pin the fold in place.

Repeat with the remaining two Ear pieces.

The two finished Ears should be mirror images of each other. The Ear shown above left is the Left Ear. The Ear shown above right is the Right Ear.

Attach the Ears to the Outer Hat Sides

Take the Left Hat Side cut from the Outer Fabric and lay it out flat. Lining up the raw edges, pin the Left Ear between the two marked lines, making sure that the folded edge of the Ear faces towards the back of the Hat.

With the walking foot attached, sew the Ear in place with a basting stitch.

Repeat with the Right Hat Side cut from the Outer Fabric and the Right Ear.

Now finish the Bonnet following the directions for the Winter Baby Bonnet project, starting at the “Piece” section. Keep in mind that instead of the Liberty of London, you’re probably using Shetland Flannel. Also, for the Lamb Bonnet, the Sherpa may be either the Outer Fabric or the Lining, depending on what you decide!

Yes, we always recommend pre-washing and drying any cotton fabric. Just wash and dry it as you will once the hat is done. So, if you tend to wash things on a warm cycle go ahead and do that and just dry it how you would dry anything else.

The 0-3 month size is meant to fit an average size baby up to 3 months, so it could be a tad big coming home from the hospital. But, that said, many kids aren’t “average” so it’s hard to say. Both of my girls were born with very large heads and this size would have fit them perfectly straight away, whereas other babies are born quite small and would be swimming in it! If you have an inkling of where the baby will fall on the size spectrum, I would size the hat with that in mind.

Hi,
I am really excited to make this cute bonnet. When I cut the fabric to I need to add the 1/4 inch seam allowance or do I cut it according to the template and sew the seam at 1/4 inch from the edge? (I am a sewing beginner so am not so familiar with following sewing instructions!)
Thanks,
Marissa

Thanks for writing in! This hat would make a great costume for older kids, and can absolutely be sized up.

I suggest making a muslin of the largest size here and trying it on your kids. Because of the way children grow, there isn’t that much difference between a two-year-old and seven-year-old head circumference and you may find that very little adjustment is needed. If you do need to add a bit more room, the easiest way would be to add it to the width of the center rectangle. If you need to add length (from the nape of the neck to the forehead), just remember to add it to the Hat Sides as well.

I hope this helps!
Please let me know if you have any other questions.
-Corinne

Hi, it’s truly beautiful. My son’s first love is his little lamb soft toy so seeing your post it made sense: this year for halloween I’ll try to do my first DIY costumes and follow your instructions. He will 26 months old by Halloween, do you think the pattern will still be fine? I’ll wait for your response before ordering and I’m so excited! Thank you!

I am so happy that our Lamb Bonnet has inspired you to make your first DIY costume for your son! It’s such a lovely tradition to start.

I don’t think you’ll have any problem with the fit of the 24 month size hat on your son. Childrenï¾’s heads grow at such a different pace than the rest of their bodies, and from around 2 years the head grows very slowly. My 4-year-old daughter actually still fits in the hat I made her when she was 2!

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions as you work on the project.
-Corinne”

Have made 3 of these lovely little bonnets. They are so cute and cosy. I would love to be able to tweak the pattern slightly to make them with press stud type clips under the chin, rather than ties, but not sure how to work out under chin strap lengths in the various sizes. Gorgeous pattern, thanks 🙂

So glad to hear that the pattern worked out for you! I am not sure that there is a standard size for the height of a head. I think that if you do attempt a press stud clip, you may need to add multiple pieces on one side of the strap to accommodate different heads circumferences.

Thank you for the question! The outfit that the model is wearing is her own and not a pattern that is available. However, I do have a suggestion or two for outfits that you could make to match this lovely bonnet. The Fleece Baby Jumpsuit would make a great match to the hat. The romper in the Sewn Layette would also make a great match. You can even make wither one of these in a matching fabric for a cohesive look.

Hi Cassy, thank you for much for posting this lovely hat. I am going to try and make this for my 2 year old and convert it to a horse hat with horse ears. Would you have any recommendations of material/yarn to use for the soft horse mane? Thank you very much.

I see this is an older post, but I have a question. The instructions say the grainline is parallel to the selvage, but in your picture, the selvage appears to be the bottom edge (running left to right in the photo) and the grainline arrow on the pattern is running perpendicular (top to bottom in the photo). Should the pattern be positioned as in the picture, or should the grainline arrow be positioned parallel to the selvage?

I am inquiring about sizing. For an inquiry on corresponding sizes in inches for the Baby Sunbonnet, you listed head sizes. Are these the same measurements that would be for the Winter Baby Bonnet? Or does this bonnet run a bit larger? I am interested in the two largest sizes and you noted the head measurements:
Size 12-18 months – 18 inches
Size 18-24 months – 19 inches.

Thanks for writing in! Both the Lamb Bonnet and the Winter Baby Bonnet should similarly as they are sized in the same fashion. I suggest making a muslin of the here and trying it on your kids before cutting into your nice fabric. The corresponding head sizes are as follows: